The Bull Rider Meets His Match

by Jeannie Watt

  “She’s so pretty,” Katie said as they finished the mane and started the tail. “Will she have ribbons at lessons?”

  “I’m sure I can arrange that,” Lex said, catching Grady’s eye. He raised an eyebrow in response, and then she shifted her gaze back to the horse. Safer territory.

  When the last ribbon was tied, Lex called it a night.

  “I really don’t gotta ride her?”

  “Nope. We’ll let her go get a drink of water. Speaking of which, I have Kool-Aid.”

  “Blue?”

  “As a matter of fact...”

  At the mention of blue Kool-Aid, Katie nodded happily and started skipping ahead of Lex. Grady fell into step with her. “She isn’t on top of the horse yet,” Lex replied when he expressed his gratitude for his niece’s one-eighty.

  “She’s more comfortable. When I asked you to do this, I expected to do the coaching. I only wanted to borrow the horse.”

  “I know.”

  And that was all she said. Finally Grady said, “The place seems to be quieter today.”

  “I kept the dogs in the house so they wouldn’t bum-rush the kid. And I penned up the rest of the menagerie, thinking it might be easier on Kristen if Katie wasn’t here communing with a petting zoo without her.”

  “Wait for us on the porch,” Grady called as Katie opened the front gate and started up the walk. “Why do you have a petting zoo?” he asked, slowing his steps.

  Lex gave a shrug. “They all needed homes.”

  “And you needed something to take care of?” Her expression instantly shuttered. Grady stuck a thumb into his front pocket and casually added, “It’s nice that you have the resources to rescue these guys. Give them a good home.”

  She eyed him, her gaze wavering on the edge of suspicion, and then she apparently decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. “Dad left me well off.”

  “He was a good guy.”

  Lex merely nodded, hooking a thumb in a belt loop, mirroring his pose. “I’d better get your niece her Kool-Aid. You want something?”

  “Kool-Aid is fine.”

  “It’s the blue kind,” she said with a straight face. “It’ll stain your lips.”

  “I’ll live.”

  So he and Lex and Katie all had a glass of blue Kool-Aid and sure enough, it stained lips—which was probably why he kept looking at Lex’s mouth.

  Right.

  Shortly after Katie’s glass was empty, they headed home to find Kristen waiting with her nose pressed against the screen door.

  “How’d it go?” Annie asked after Katie and Kristen holed up in their bedroom to compare notes. Then she frowned at him, cocking her head to see him better. “Blue Kool-Aid?”

  “Lex is nothing if not a gracious hostess.” Grady took the beer she handed him. “And it went really well. Lex took over, and she and Katie spent the entire time grooming the horse. By the end, Katie was even helping clean the hooves.”

  “Smart.” Annie closed the dishwasher and twisted the timer. The old machine groaned as it started.

  “Yeah. I have to agree with you there. Lex is smart.”

  “She kind of scares me,” Annie admitted.

  “She works at that.”

  “How do you know?”

  Grady tipped the beer at her. “If you scare people, they don’t try to get too close.”

  “What makes you such a psychologist?” Annie folded a dish towel and slipped it through the fridge handle.

  “Just a feeling I have.”

  “About Lex.”

  He nodded slowly. “About Lex.”

  * * *

  GRADY WASN’T CERTAIN exactly when he’d come up with the theory that Lex cultivated a scary persona in an attempt to keep people at bay. At some point since his returning home, the idea had edged into his brain, and the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. He thought back to when he’d first started dating Danielle. Had Lex been scary then? He couldn’t decide. She’d been straightforward and no-nonsense. She’d been protective of those she cared about...but had she purposely put people off?

  That he didn’t know, because she’d been busy protecting Danielle from him and he had a skewed perspective. The situation, he decided, might warrant more investigation. Because he was curious...and he liked the way Lex kissed. But he wanted a real kiss now, not a revenge kiss.

  And...he didn’t see that happening anytime soon.

  Chapter Seven

  The boards were all replaced on the damaged side of the barn, and the garage repairs were almost done. Grady was a little further along than he’d thought he’d be at this point—primarily because he’d finally gotten the hang of twin-sitting—and he decided that before he left to catch the first stop of the Bull Extravaganza in late August, he’d build Annie a shed for her gardening equipment. He was also going to build some deep shelves along one of the garage walls so that she could store things more easily.

  As it was, the free space in the garage was stacked with plastic bins—those that had survived the wind storm, that is. After the storm, she’d found the girls’ baby clothing scattered across a nearby field, and her Christmas decorations had all been destroyed. Despite losses, she still had too many boxed items taking up too much floor space. He’d managed to get a used weight bench crammed into one corner shortly after arriving, but he had to step over boxes to get to it. He was getting tired of boxes.

  So...shelving and a shed. When he was done with those projects, it would be time to head out, but this time he was coming back, which meant that he needed to think about where he was going to live during the winter months. Maybe a single-wide mobile home on the edge of the property. The land was half his, after all, and Annie probably wouldn’t mind having him around—

  “Uncle Grady!”

  It was a low-level code-yellow shout. He’d dealt with enough niece emergencies since starting the babysitting gig to know the difference between code red—blood, glass, dangling from a tree limb—and code yellow—salamander loose in the house, accidentally flushed a sneaker, the dishwasher making funny noises.

  “Coming.”

  He rounded the corner of the house and found himself facing two very muddy girls standing on the back porch. They were caked from head to toe.

  “Can you carry us into the bathroom so that we don’t get mud on the floor?”

  “Oh, yeah. So much better to get mud all over me.” One edge of his mouth quirked. “How’d you get so muddy?”

  Katie pointed at Kristen. “She started it.”

  “Mom said to share, and you weren’t.”

  “Never mind.” Grady blew out a breath. “We’d better get these clothes hosed off before your mom gets home. In fact...how do you feel about a little cold water on a hot day?”

  The girls exchanged looks, then shrugged in unison.

  Grady set the sprinkler in the middle of the yard and cranked on the water. “Get the mud off and I’ll go start the bath.”

  “Don’t forget to put the flower-smelling stuff in the water,” Katie called before racing toward the sprinkler and squealing as she ran through. Kristen followed, and Grady went into the house feeling like a winner. Problem solved and no grit in the bottom of the washer as there’d been the last time the girls had a muddy adventure. He’d had a heck of a time getting the sand out before Annie got home.

  After the dripping girls had retired to the bathroom to share a flowery-smelling bath, Grady mopped the water off the floor, congratulated himself on a masterful solution then went out to measure for the shelving. He was getting the hang of this parenthood thing. In fact, he was getting pretty good at it.

  * * *

  ON THE MONDAY morning that Danielle left for her Wyoming Wedding Plan Escape with Curtis, Lex got to the store early so tha
t she could do all the things Danielle usually did—arrange flowers, dust the displays, make certain everything was arranged as charmingly as possible.

  She was nervous.

  A whole week working in the store alone with Annie. It was her store and Annie was an employee—a warm, easy-to-talk-to employee—but Lex never did well in small places with people for prolonged periods of time. She didn’t know Annie that well...and she had a feeling she kind of scared the woman. Normally things like that didn’t bother her, but they had a whole week stretching ahead of them. Lex prepared herself for a day or two of awkwardness, only to have Annie burst in through the back door two minutes late with her hair still damp. She set down her bag with a thump.

  “I’m so sorry I’m late. Rough morning.”

  “Ah.” Lex gave a quick smile before she continued arranging flowers, although not nearly as artfully as Danielle did it.

  “My blow dryer got shanghaied and pressed into service as a way to dry a spot on the sofa where a pitcher of water got spilled. Burned the motor out.”

  “Where was Grady?” Lex asked.

  “That was Grady.”

  The ice was officially broken.

  She and Annie didn’t talk about Grady after that—although Lex had him on her mind. Instead they cautiously broached other topics—high school, the upcoming Founder’s Day celebration, their observations about various people in town. They didn’t engage in flagrant gossip as Lex and Danielle did, but they edged close enough that Lex decided that she and Annie were on the same page for the most part.

  That evening, Grady brought Katie for another Daphne session. The little girl helped Lex groom the mare again, diving in with more enthusiasm this time and feeling comfortable enough to help tie the ribbon in the mare’s tail while Lex held it for her.

  “Ready to help me saddle?”

  “I guess,” Katie replied tentatively. Saddling was obviously the next step toward riding, and that was Katie’s bugaboo.

  Lex knelt in front of the girl, putting herself at eye level. “Here’s the thing...horses can sense what we’re feeling. If you’re confident, then the horse will feel confident, too.”

  “What’s conf-dent?”

  “Brave.”

  Katie’s forehead knitted. “If I’m brave, then the horse feels brave.”

  “You’re the leader, not the horse. Horses like being told what to do. It’s the way things are when they live wild in herds.”

  “I’m the horse boss?”

  “You are—with a good horse, anyway. There are some horses that’ll test you, but with horses like Daphne, yes, you are boss.”

  “Huh.” Katie kicked the gravel at her feet as she considered this new information.

  Lex chanced a look at Grady, who was close enough to hear but had remained silent during the exchange. She’d half expected him to chime in, but he didn’t. In fact, his expression bordered on unreadable. She told herself she was fine with that, but in all honesty, she liked knowing what Grady was thinking, where his thoughts were. It allowed her to shore up her defenses where needed and plan strategy.

  “Shall we saddle?” she asked Katie.

  “Okay.”

  Together, they saddled the horse, Katie helping as much as she could, despite her height disadvantage. Once the saddle was cinched, Lex showed Katie how to lead the horse so that she didn’t have to keep looking over her shoulder to make certain she wasn’t about to be trod upon.

  “I don’t think Daphne would step on me,” Katie announced, and Grady found himself smiling.

  “Not on purpose,” Lex agreed. After unsaddling the horse, she asked Katie if she’d like to sit on Daphne’s bare back.

  Katie looked uncertain at first, but then she nodded.

  “I’m the boss,” she whispered to herself as Lex helped her up onto the mare’s back. Katie clutched the beribboned mane as Daphne let out an equine sigh and cocked a hoof.

  “Uh-oh,” Lex said. “She’s going to sleep.”

  “That’s okay,” Katie assured her.

  “Okay, now lean forward and give Daphne’s neck a hug while she’s falling asleep.”

  “All right.” The girl gave the mare a mighty hug.

  “Now sit up...” She waited. “...and turn to touch the top of her tail with your right hand...okay, the left hand,” she amended as Katie twisted the wrong way. “Now the other hand.”

  Lex talked the girl through leaning forward to hug the mare’s neck again, turning to touch the tail with either hand, then finally, with a little help, leaning back and resting her head on the rump.

  “Now, don’t you go to sleep,” Lex said, and the little girl managed a strangled giggle as she lay stretched out on the horse’s back, her little legs at a forty-five-degree angle to the ground.

  Katie lifted up from that maneuver, her face red with exertion, then with Lex’s help did toe touches and windmills. She slid off the horse, then allowed herself to be tossed back on. All the while Daphne stood and quietly waited for the gymnastic session on her back to end, and Grady watched silently from the fence.

  “Good work,” Lex said as Katie finally led the mare to the pasture. “How do you feel?”

  “More like the boss.”

  Lex laughed, met Grady’s unreadable expression and the laughter died in her throat. She wasn’t certain she liked the intense way he was watching her. A few minutes later, after stowing the halter, they headed to the house for Kool-Aid—red today, even though it wasn’t Katie’s favorite.

  Grady didn’t have a lot to say, but he drank his Kool-Aid and complimented his niece on her balance. Lex walked with them as far as the front yard gate when it was time for them to go.

  “Tomorrow?” she said, brushing aside the hair that had blown across her face.

  Katie nodded and Grady settled his hand on the back of his niece’s neck. She felt the strong urge to ask him what had made him appear so thoughtful that evening, but decided that (a) it was best not to show interest in his thought processes, and (b) she might not want to know.

  “Tomorrow would be great. See you.” Then he smiled, and Lex felt her breath catch a little. She lifted her chin, gave a quick nod and headed back to the house.

  * * *

  GRADY BOUGHT THE materials he needed to build the gardening shed on Wednesday morning and had already dug most of the foundation by the time Annie got home. As he’d expected, she’d protested, then beamed at the thought of having a place for her tools. He was going to hold off presenting her with the rototiller he’d decided she needed until he was ready to pull out at the end of the summer. Annie had never been good at receiving gifts. She needed to get better at it.

  While Annie dished up stew he’d made in the slow cooker, Grady took a quick shower, washing off the sweat and dirt from the day’s digging. He and Katie ate, and then the two of them headed out to Lex’s.

  He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t looking forward to the lesson. Lex was a natural with his niece, showing a side he’d never seen...perhaps never even suspected existed. An intuitive, empathetic side. He’d been fascinated watching her during the last lesson, but he knew better than to show it. So he’d leaned on the fence, the setting sun at his back, figuring she wouldn’t be able to read him while squinting into the glare. He planned to do the same tonight. To what end, he didn’t know, but he was starting to find Lex interesting in a way he hadn’t before.

  Lex shot him one quick look as he got out of the truck, then focused solely on Katie, who led the way in the grooming. After bridling the horse, she tossed Katie on top, then put her through the exercises, seeming to know exactly when to put out a reassuring hand and when to let Katie find her own balance. After that, they saddled the horse and once again she helped Katie onto the mare’s back.

  “Do you think you can do your exercises at
a walk if your uncle is beside you?”

  Katie sent an alarmed look his way, then tucked her chin against her chest as she debated. “I can try. If Uncle Grady is there. Really close.”

  “I’ll be super close,” he said as he climbed through the fence. His gaze connected with Lex’s, but all she did was to raise her eyebrows.

  “Grab the horn and we’ll walk slowly in a circle. And then when you’re ready, I’ll tell you what to do.”

  “Okay.”

  “Remember who’s boss,” Grady said, smiling up at her.

  “All right, Katie, see if you can let go of the horn and ride with your hands out to the side....”

  Kate went through all the movements with only a minor amount of help from him. The sun went down, but Katie was doing so well they continued on. Eventually she took the reins and rode Daphne around the edge of the arena, turned her and stopped her and then, wonder of wonders, she trotted. And she smiled as she bounced along on top of the mare, clutching the saddle horn with one hand.

  When she stopped, Lex said, “You, my dear, are officially caught up with the other kids, if not past them.”

  Katie’s eye went wide. “But I’m the worst one.”

  “There is no worst one,” Lex said. “Only people progressing at their own speed.”

  Katie considered her words as she helped put the tack away. “I’m going to tell Kristen that when she complains that she can’t draw.”

  “Excellent plan,” Grady said. He waited until Katie headed up the walk to say, “You’ve done a great job with her.”

  “Is that it? Lessons are done?” she asked mildly.

  “We can’t come by on Thursday,” he said, wondering if she perhaps wanted to continue. “I have to do some practice rides at Hennessey’s, and I’m coaching a couple of kids there.”

  “I hope it goes better than last time.” There was a soft smirk on her face. An expression that was rapidly growing on him.